culture
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I Went to Bikram Yoga and Here’s What Happened (Hint: It Was Horrible)
Editor’s note: This post contains tweets that some may find offensive. Stephen A. Crockett Jr. is associate editor of news at The Root. Follow him on Twitter.
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Stand With Her: Black Men as Anti-Rape Activists
In the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, I often wonder where are the black men mobilizing against sexual violence against black women? Have we hidden—like the biblical David—away from the eyes of our communities because we are secretly invested in rape culture? Are we afraid because we do not actually know what sexual…
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A Sweet Way to Take Your Cocktails to the Next Level
When life gave Forrest Butler lemons, he made lemon syrup. Butler, a former designer and architect, lost his job in 2008, and so he returned to bartending. An avid mixologist, he noticed that all of the syrups necessary for his increasingly popular cocktails were laden with preservatives. So one day he began making his own. …
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How to Fix That #OscarsStillSoWhite Problem
If you haven’t noticed the steam rising from the Twitter icon on your iPhone, then you may not be aware that once again, the Oscars have been declared #SoWhite. Typically, when this ever-so-shocking event occurs, the narrative dovetails into two discussions: Why do black people want acknowledgment from “these” awards, and why don’t artists show…
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How Come Nobody Cares About En Vogue Anymore?
I could talk about music incessantly. I’m like Steve Hightower (of Steve Hightower and the High Tops fame): Music is my one true love. Or, at the very least, my first love. I used to steal tapes. I remember my first CD purchase. I’ve had full-fledged arguments with friends that nearly turned into brawls over…
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Black Lives Matter in Germany, but Not the Way You Might Think
Black lives matter in Germany. Last month, by request of the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission), I keynoted the Network Inclusion Leaders, or NILE, conference, in Berlin, which focused on “building sustainable collaboration among young leaders of color who are committed to a just and inclusive society.” There, I learned…
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The Impact of Absent Fathers on the Mental Health of Black Boys
Thabiti Boone grew up in a neighborhood where fathers didn’t exist, he says. The few who were physically present weren’t there spiritually or emotionally. “I never saw dads in the park playing with their sons,” Boone recalls. In his own life, Boone, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., says that his father was present but not…
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Elle, You Just Don’t Understand #BlackGirlMagic
On Wednesday, Elle published an essay by Linda Chavers lamenting the use of the popular phrase “Black Girl Magic.” Chavers’ essay was prompted by Essence magazine’s use of the catchphrase for female black excellence on its February-issue covers. “There’s something else that rubs me the wrong way about the phrase ‘black girl magic,’” writes Chavers.…
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5 Signs You’re About to Be Racially Fetishized
So … what’s your type? Admit it: You probably have one; most of us do. No harm there. We like what we like, right? Right? Now that we’ve broken the ice, do you have a fetish? Too personal? Well, how about this: Six months ago I decided to stop side-eyeing my singlehood (read: my painfully…
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Do You Think Spanking Is an Acceptable Part of Our Culture, or Is It a Form of Child Abuse?
Aliya’s turn: Like many with mothers in my mom’s generation, my older brother, younger sister and I were spanked more than once. The offenses were usually one or more of the big three: lying, cheating and stealing. My parents just did not stand for any of it, and there would be corporal punishment, by hand…